# New Humidor build



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

This one is for my Dad. Throughout the years he has smoked a cigar with me here and there but never had any urge to buy and store some for himself. Well, a couple of years ago he retired and has been doing more traveling with my Mom and found out that he liked to smoke when doing so. Come to find out, he bought a sample pack and humidor from Thompsons a while back. :nono: I have been giving him some cigars here and there and he kept saying "I don't have much room in the tiny humidor and I don't think it's very good too." :hmm: After I built a humidor for myself, I could tell he wanted one. Sooooo, I decided to do so and had hoped to get it done in time for Christmas. I have been extremely busy in the shop with regular orders that I didn't think I was going to be able to do so until this week. Some time opened up and I got to milling and such. I spent yesterday working on it and got it ready to glue up. I'll try to update as progress continues but bear with me 

Started with some walnut (it's hard to see but there is some chatoyancy in the grain and hopefully I can make it pop with the finish) and a piece of bubinga for the top









Mitered, cut for splines and put grooves in for the top and bottom.









took some more bubinga and planed it down to fit in the spline slots and then crosscut the splines (I did it right this time Forrest )









dry fit









I put a couple of coats of shellac to the insides before glue up. I do it this way because I put raw spanish cedar in the grooves with the top and bottom


----------



## zenom (Aug 30, 2011)

Nice, do we have another waxingmoon amongst us? 

Can't wait to see more.


----------



## BlackandGold508 (Jan 23, 2011)

Looking good my man ! Cant wait to see her all finished !


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

zenom said:


> Nice, do we have another waxingmoon amongst us?
> 
> Can't wait to see more.


lol... No. While I do do woodworking as a profession, I do not sell humidors. I can build em, but not like Ed. Every time I do one and I get to the glue up, I am cursing and screaming. lol


----------



## Michigan_Moose (Oct 11, 2011)

I want to do this so bad. Maybe someday.


----------



## TanZ2005 (Jun 25, 2006)

Very awesome Build so far. Wish I was that able with Tools and such to make a Humidor or 2 but I will keep that to the Pros. Can't wait to see more. 

James


----------



## lamontjb (Dec 11, 2010)

Looks great so far, I want to do one one day too.


----------



## ejgarnut (Sep 28, 2009)

Very cool of you to make that for your pa. 

I like the angled cuts for the outside splines (that is for splines right?) Looking forward to see it all finished up!


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

ejgarnut said:


> Very cool of you to make that for your pa.
> 
> I like the angled cuts for the outside splines (that is for splines right?) Looking forward to see it all finished up!


no splines on the out side, just inside the miters. I think the marks you're referring too are just lines I made to keep the sides in the right orders. This keeps the grain continuously flowing around the box


----------



## Lopezoscar03 (Nov 2, 2011)

very very nice my friend. your dad is going to be really happy!!!


----------



## Maverick7232 (Nov 23, 2011)

Man I wish I had the skills to do that! If your pops doesn't like it, or you make a mistake by chance you can always send it my way!!:biggrin:


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

Took it out of the clamps this morning and sanded, routed the edges and shaped the top....










Did a "preview" of what it will look like once some finish is on it 



















What I like to do at this point is finish the outside before I cut the lid, just seems a lot easier to do it that way with the type of finish I'm putting on this one. If interested, I can go thought the finish process with you guys


----------



## Maximon (Aug 3, 2011)

That's a really lovely and unique humidor. I like it!


----------



## golfguy (Apr 24, 2010)

Looking great Eric. Would love to hear your finishing process too. Finishing, to me, is an intimidating process because I don't want all my hard work to be stained (pardon the pun) by a bad finishing choice or technique.


----------



## Fatboy501 (May 11, 2011)

Definitely a nice build. I'm sure your father will be extremely happy to own such a unique and thoughtful humidor.


----------



## fiddlegrin (Feb 8, 2009)

Ya Baybay___!
That is looking fanfreakingtastic!

Thanks a lot for sharing the joy Eric :high5:


----------



## jumpmaster (May 31, 2011)

Extremely nice work Eric, you Dad will be extremely happy with this one


----------



## maxlexi (Sep 2, 2011)

Great Build.


----------



## splitslim (Sep 17, 2010)

Looks fantastic!

I started by build today as well - was a frustrating experience as I tried to go the lock miter route and I spent 4 hours trying to set up the bit. Needless to say, the bit is going back and I stuck with a straight miter which will have some splines added. 7/8" nero black granite floor, black walnut all the way around. I'll post some pics when done.


----------



## TanZ2005 (Jun 25, 2006)

WOW that does look awesome. and the Finnish is looking smashing. YOur dad is going to love it.

Wonderful talent you have there.

James


----------



## Null (Dec 4, 2011)

Very impressive work! I am sure he will be quite happy with it.


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks for all the compliments guys!!

Now time for the finishing..... 
I've decided to create a finish that has a glass look to it. A very high polish and to accomplish this I need to "rub out" the finish. First thing in order is to fill the grain. That way, you don't see a bunch of little holes from the open pores and also so the polishing compound doesn't fill in the holes leaving a residue that's really a pain in the ass to get out! (don't ask me how I know this) So, I decided to use plaster of paris to fill the grain. This is a common and old practice in wood finishing and the plaster of paris is cheap and can be bought at any big box store. This is what it looks like once applied and dry










Then, sanded again at 220 to remove all the excess plaster of paris and your left with this


















I've decided to use a couple of coats of tung oil under the finish that I'm going to rub out, so this is after the first coat of tung...

























You can see that the plaster of paris turns translucent once the oil is applied. Next, after the tung oil dries, I will be spraying anywhere from 6 to 8 coats of a top coat that I can "rub out" to a mirror finish. I think I'm going to use de-waxed shellac for this as is dries very fast and I can put most if not all the coats on in one day. Stay tuned!


----------



## LLave (Oct 21, 2011)

This may be a stupid question but, you apply an oil before the finish? How does the finish stick?


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

Tung oil is a finish in and of itself (any oil is really) and does cure. Once dried, you can apply a varnish, or lacquer on top of it. Shellac can be a finish, a bonding agent between two different types of finishes (If you want to put a water base poly on top of an oil, you use shellac in between), a seal coat or a pre-stain conditioner. It's very versatile and easy to use. It will stick to anything if applied right. It's not the most durable of top coats, but being a small box that will get an occasional finger print from time to time, it will suite just fine :wink:

I put the tung oil on first because it penetrates the wood and once the topcoat is applied, the grain should pop a little more than just straight shellac.


----------



## kharzhak (Dec 12, 2011)

very cool. I'm thinking about putting in a wall humidor at my place ... have you ever done one of those? Have suggestions for a tight sealing set of doors?


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

Never done it....yet :wink:

You would need to incorporate a seal with the door and the cabinet. Much like the lid on a box has. Or you could use a rubber seal,gasket around the door and maybe a magnet to keep it closed.


----------



## Hannibal (Apr 22, 2011)

Looking very good Brother!!


----------



## LLave (Oct 21, 2011)

E Dogg said:


> Tung oil is a finish in and of itself (any oil is really) and does cure. Once dried, you can apply a varnish, or lacquer on top of it. Shellac can be a finish, a bonding agent between two different types of finishes (If you want to put a water base poly on top of an oil, you use shellac in between), a seal coat or a pre-stain conditioner. It's very versatile and easy to use. It will stick to anything if applied right. It's not the most durable of top coats, but being a small box that will get an occasional finger print from time to time, it will suite just fine :wink:
> 
> I put the tung oil on first because it penetrates the wood and once the topcoat is applied, the grain should pop a little more than just straight shellac.


Thank you for learnin' me good! I appreciate it. Awesome build, looks great.


----------



## kharzhak (Dec 12, 2011)

E Dogg said:


> Never done it....yet :wink:
> 
> You would need to incorporate a seal with the door and the cabinet. Much like the lid on a box has. Or you could use a rubber seal,gasket around the door and maybe a magnet to keep it closed.


Alright - I have a couple of friends into wood work ... but they don't know crap about cigars. If I learn anything useful, I'll let you know. Send pics of that humidor as it progresses - looks awesome!


----------



## Michigan_Moose (Oct 11, 2011)

It looks awesome, very very nice work.


----------



## lamontjb (Dec 11, 2010)

Christmas is a few days away... how is the project going? I would like to see pictures of the lid cut and the hardware installed, plus the final. This looks really good!


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

Yeah, I know. I've taken a couple of days off but it should be finished this week. I have managed to spray on 3 coats of Shellac, after about 3 more I can rub it out. I will do an update probably Monday...


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

That is absolutely stunning, Eric. Extremely professional looking work there, man. Keep it up!!


----------



## Oliva (Jan 28, 2010)

OMG! That's a beauty!!!!


----------



## ginomontreal (Sep 1, 2011)

Very nice humidor


----------



## AlanP (Aug 14, 2011)

wow looks awesome man!


----------



## CigarSnWhiskeY (Sep 6, 2011)

cant wait to see this finished!! great work thus far!!


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

Thank you everyone. I've managed to finish putting the shellac on. This is what she looks like as of now....



















Not much different looking than before, but now there is a buildup of finish that can be rubbed out to a high gloss. I should be doing that here in the next day or two and then cut the lid and finish her off. Stay tuned!


----------



## HWiebe (Jul 13, 2010)

She's a beaut!

Love the jointery. Keep up the good work brother!


----------



## Voorhees (Jul 5, 2011)

Nice. He'll be pleased.

-J


----------



## crizq0 (Dec 16, 2011)

That looks awesome! You only have a few days left. To give it a glossy finish, cut the top, season it, and have it cigar ready. You're dad will be ecstatic to have a custom humidor. 

BTW, how did you become a woodworker? As a hobby and learned on your own off of books? Took classes or apprenticed under someone? Which woodworker inspires your creations?


----------



## stew (Jun 20, 2011)

Eric, that is some outstanding woodwork!!!! A beautiful heirloom you built there!!!! Your Dad will be very pleased with that humidor!!!!


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

So now! back on track and I think I'm pretty sure I'll get this finished up here in the next couple of days. Yesterday I rubbed out the finish and I'm fairly pleased with it. It looks good, but I'm still learning this whole process and need more practice to do it flawlessly. Anyways, what it entails, is sanding the topcoat with very fine grits successively until you achieve a high polish. Then rub it out with a compound to bring out the sheen and depth. Basically, the same thing is done in the automotive industry.

Here it is before the sanding. It has a nice finish already, with somewhat of a sheen to it. But the reflection is not that clear. You can tell it's a light, but not too much definition of the reflection.









First sanding....









Second sanding...









Third sanding.... now we're getting somewhere. more definition in the reflection, but still a glaze on the surface...that's basically from all the sand marks









Now, after the polishing compound and then a light buff with a clean cloth....much better. You can clearly see two florescent lights in the reflection 









Whole box...


















Here's a better image of the reflection off the side of the box....


----------



## socalocmatt (Dec 22, 2010)

Damn that's purdy!


----------



## crizq0 (Dec 16, 2011)

Time to cut the box


----------



## Booyaa (Nov 6, 2010)

Looking good fella. Very impressive craftmanship.


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

cutting the lid and lining it with spanish cedar tomorrow :wink:



crizq0 said:


> BTW, how did you become a woodworker? As a hobby and learned on your own off of books? Took classes or apprenticed under someone? Which woodworker inspires your creations?


It started back in high school shop, then 10 years later I went into the construction industry and worked for a general. Ended up taking over the finish carpentry dept and doing all the cabinet work. That eventually led me to working strictly with hardwoods and that is where i am today. Totally self taught reading some books and mags and being apart of an online community like this one, but for woodworking, helped a lot. No classes (except high school), no apprenticeship and no single woodworker to draw inspiration from. Just anything that floats my boat is what I get inspired by....


----------



## tiger187126 (Jul 17, 2010)

this site amazes me. a lot of guys got into custom humidor work that looks amazing, like yours here, and then we got guys growing and rolling tobacco.

it's just really cool to see guys do this stuff that most of us take for granted.


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

And it's Done!!!! just in time 










before the walls are lined



















new 8" hinge I found with a stop at 105*. With this, I only needed to mortise the lid...


----------



## 705squat (Dec 23, 2010)

That is awesome. Great job.


----------



## lamontjb (Dec 11, 2010)

Did you use a table saw to cut the lid off? Can I use a table saw to cut the lid off if I were doing this part last? Looks amazing!


----------



## Titus13 (May 11, 2008)

nice work you are very talented


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks for all the comments everyone.



lamontjb said:


> Did you use a table saw to cut the lid off? Can I use a table saw to cut the lid off if I were doing this part last? Looks amazing!


Yes, I did use my table saw. Just make sure you set your blade about 1/32 under the thickness of the wood and then finish cutting it off with a razor blade. This is so the lid doesn't come loose once you make that last cut. Could be dangerous and/or cause problems with the cut.


----------



## socalocmatt (Dec 22, 2010)

Damn. That looks good. I keep finding myself looking at this thread. Great work and an amazing end product.


----------



## doblemaduro (Jun 24, 2007)

What can I say that hasn't already been said. You have a rare talent! Congrats!


----------



## E Dogg (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks again guys. There are some flaws and such as I am still refining my box making skills, but I am getting better and better with each new one. 

Have a Merry Christmas


----------



## AStateJB (Oct 13, 2011)

Great work E! Looks awesome! :thumb:


----------

